Excellent info.
I'd like to add that it all holds true for the north half of B.C. as well.
Once you get past Prince George heading north, the communities are small, few and far apart.
For us it's an adventure having to go through somewhere that actually has more than one traffic light.

__________________So you hate your job. There is a support group for that.It's called EVERYBODY and they meet at the bar.- George Carlin

I'm currently getting ready for my 4th trip to Alaska, Yukon, NW Territories in the last 6 years. the 1st trip I made all the standard mistakes; took too much stuff, went with a schedule & plan, etc. I got lucky and had pretty good weather most of the trip and traveled 7,500 miles round trip with almost no difficulites. I took a KLR with hardly any modifications except bigger windscreen and better seat. cheap reliable bike with large gas tank.

I had been talking about the trip for over a year and one Sunday i just said the hell with it, loaded the bike and left the next day. figured I'd "learn the hard way" on the first trip; and it's still my favorite trip to Alaska.

when people ask me about my trips i tell them they can plan or they can just go!! i strongly recommend "just go" !

or you can sit at your computer and read the "Alaska" threads and someday you'll die saying " I wish . . . "

My schedule is set to leave NC September 1 but after reading the starting post of this thread I don't know if I can wait. I made it as far as Fairbanks in 2003 but time turned me back south. I got the whole month this trip so Prudhoe Bay it is.

So many of the things he wrote about are "me".

I never check a weather report before a trip. If I can't go it won't be the weather that stops me.

I never make hotel or camp site reservations. There's always the woods.

When I hit sparse fuel territory I never pass a fill up opportunity. I did that last AK trip one time and the stations were only ~25 miles apart. :-) I've never run out of gas in a motorcycle in the ~40 years I've been riding them.

When I was there last the BMW Dealership was in a mobile home, no shit, new bikes were on blocks in a living room picture window. The mechanic shop was a shack out back. I lie to you not. I have pics of the old guy (my age, little older) mounting a new rear tire on my 1100R and there was just barely enough room on each side of the bike for him to work. I seriously

doubt he could have got an LT in there. Alcan 'ate' the rear MEZ3. Went flat as I stood in front of the Yukon/AK sign getting my picture taken. Damn good thing the guard shack had a compressor in the shop. I have no idea how I made it to Fairbanks on that thing. Steel wire was slapping the inside of the fender well like one of those paint scrapers. The pucker mark in the seat was still on that bike when I sold it 50,000 miles later. :-)

This trip I'm swapping the Anakees for some K60 Scouts in Fairbanks for the Dalton and the Cassiar on the return trip. I'm ordering them ahead from a local dealer to be there when I arrive. I sure as hell don't want those folks going out of business so I'm willing to pay more to help make sure they're there for my next trip. Back to Anakee's near the south end of the Cassiar.

About the only thing new they can do in AK that will make my day is put a torch to all the Mickey Ds, Burger Kings, etc. I want greasy eggs and truck stop coffee.

Last thing, I always ride solo. A vacation is for doing what 'you' want to do. Not asking someone else what 'they' want to do. :-)

Excellent writing in Alaska Primer. Great tips/good humor.....
Planning 5/2013 departure from the desert.
You covered "tires", and I understand technique is 98% of gravel/dirt riding, but in looking at one of your pictures, your
beautiful Goldwing Dual-Sport front tire seems to have a nice, chunky tread design.
I've been trying to find tires like that, but come up empty.
Would you pass along any info?
Thanks, and keep the words and pictures coming!

I've been dreaming of a trip to Alaska for too many years. Now, thanks to Jack's photos I gotta do it in 2012.

I'll be departing MN in early July 2013 riding directly to SW Montana where I'll pick up the CDT and ride it to Canada. At that point I need your help. I'd like to ride trails as much as possible all the way to Alaska. Where can I get maps that show trails/forestry roads etc. Does anyone have off-road route suggestions from Eureka, MT to Alaska.

A blonde was walking down the side of a small stream in Glacier National Park. She noticed another blonde walking down the other side of the same stream and asked earnestly, hey, how do you get to the other side? The other blonde replied, you are on the other side. One of my favs.

KHuddy likes my DR so much he even provided a very special parking spot for it up at the dorms in Fairbanks. Did he provide special Geezer parking spots for Jack and his bikes? NO. I think that shows how special my DR and I are.

When did Jack get handicap licence plates for his bikes?

__________________
"Fate will inevitably catch up with those who run away from it." Kai-'Jade Warrior'

Actually, garage parking was provided both in Alaska and Montana and it came with baked goods and Fudge.
Beamertwin you now qualify for special assistance as well, especially if your bike is leaking more oil than the Exxon Valdez. We provided garage privileges just to pacify the EPA!

Actually, garage parking was provided both in Alaska and Montana and it came with baked goods and Fudge.
Beamertwin you now qualify for special assistance as well, especially if your bike is leaking more oil than the Exxon Valdez. We provided garage privileges just to pacify the EPA!

Damn gray hair gave me away

__________________
"Fate will inevitably catch up with those who run away from it." Kai-'Jade Warrior'

This has been an interesting thread to read. This summer marks the 20th anniversary of my ride from Virginia to the Arctic Circle on an '82 BMW R100RS, hardly an "adventure" bike as is commonly thought today. But I had a great adventure on my trip. Five weeks on the road, passing a black bear plodding along on the northbound side while I was heading south on the Haul Road from the Circle, seeing Denali without cloud cover, what an amazing state!

I'm thinking of riding back up this summer on my GS, and I found AlcanRider's post so refreshing. I sell BMWs for a living so, if someone wants to buy an Adventure to make that trip, which a number of our customers do, I'm happy to help them. But I'll also tell them they don't need the latest "adventure" machine to go on a trip. I'm very active with Horizons Unlimited (http://www.horizonsunlimited.com), and I know people ride all over and around the world on everything from scooters to sportbikes. The trip and what you bring to it is what matters, not the vehicle.

You know, of course, that in the future when brain transplants have been perfected, men's brains will cost more than female brains.
The reason?
Female brains are used!
-ceej

It has been several weeks since I last got myself into serious trouble here on the forum, and the strain of behaving somewhat decorously is taking its toll. The last vestige of self-control, which to now has prevented me from responding to these words, is gone, and respond I must. The statements I am about to post are no doubt comments which will ensure that neither fudge nor cheesecake will be menu choices for me in the foreseeable future. Every cloud has a silver lining, however, and being deprived of those two delights could make it easier to fit into my riding gear next spring.

Rather than take this thread farther afield than it has already strayed, a new one will be started, aptly entitled “Mindless Drivel”. This should serve to make nuttynu and HayDuchessLives feel right at home should they deign to post in it.